Posts Tagged ‘Family’

If you recall, before Christmas, Alan Honey, of Alan Honey Photography, let me use his studio to do some Christmas portraits of my family. I gave you a sneak peek a while ago, but now that everyone has opened their presents, I figured it’s okay to let you see them, too.

But you’ll have to go here to see them (the pictures are bigger over there). 🙂

Well, it’s definitely that time of year! Time to go caroling, keep the hot chocolate warm on the stove, help out a neighbor, and tell everyone what they’re getting for Christmas!

That’s right, everyone! In this new internet-driven, free-information-for-all generation, we decided to post our Christmas list here on the Internet!

It’s fun! It’s really freeing, too! Just imagine, never having to use those precious cubic inches under your bed to hide presents anymore! Just throw them under the tree! Wrapping paper? Who needs it!

So, without further ado, your presents: This Friday, the family and I went to Alan Honey‘s photography studio. I’ve been working for him for about a year now, assisting him at his weddings and second shooting for him. It’s been a blast. One of the perks of the job is occasionally being able to use his studio when he’s not there. Chalk it up as experience and practice and we’re all happy. =]

After the practice session, Michelle and I got to thinking that these would make the perfect present for all of our relatives. So, if we share blood, just know: you’re getting pictures!

A friend of mine recently sent me an email announcement about a new web service that has really made me smile. It’s called HusbandHero, and as the name implies, it’s dedicated to making each husband into the hero that he wants to be, the “knight in shining armor” that his wife may have envisioned when she said yes. Here’s just a sample of their mission statement:

Husband Hero is a simple service that helps remind us to put ourselves and our needs behind those of our spouse and our children. In our (limited) experience, we have found that as either spouse does this, the relationship deepens and improves. There is a certain magic rekindled when a husband does something special (small as it may be) to serve and love his wife, and generally the wife’s inclination is to respond by doing something selfless and loving in response. If this pattern is repeated frequently over the course of weeks and months, it is almost certain that an increase in the strength of marriages and families will follow, and our homes, communities, and society would improve. Consequently, there would be a corresponding decline in the amount of neglect, abuse, separation, and divorce.

When you sign up, they send you a monthly email with simple suggestions of things that you, husbands, can do for your wives, organized into cost brackets. The sample email on the site, some helpful tips for July, includes ideas ranging from no cost (drawing a bubble bath for her and floating a hand-written “message in a bottle” for her to read as she relaxes) or low cost (picking or buying fresh flowers for five days in a row and hiding them where she won’t expect them—the fridge, for example—along with a note detailing one reason you love and appreciate her), all the way to big bucks ideas (a hot air balloon ride). This allows you to choose an idea that you and your wallet are comfortable with.

None of the ideas on their sample email were shockingly new; I’m pretty sure I’ve heard them all before. However, that doesn’t mean that I think about or actually do them consistently. I could definitely see a reminder email being helpful, especially when it’s something that I’d like to be doing anyways.

If you, as a husband, feel particularly clueless about what your wife would actually like you to do, she can also sign in and head over to the “Better Half Haven” where she can fill out an interests and moods profile and include all the dates she’d like you to remember. These, of course, make their way into your inbox in a timely fashion.

Or, you can keep the whole thing a secret and let your wife think you’re just that amazing all by yourself.

Whatever the case, they’ve got an introductory price going right now that puts all this in your email box for a dollar a month. Sounds like a very well invested dollar to me.